Apparatus for forming pipe



May 22, 1934. B. w. HENNxNG APPARATUS PoR PORMLNG PIPE Filed Jan. 4, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 22, 1934. B. w. HENNING APPARATUS FOR FORMING PIPE Filed Jan. 4, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lql MH@ IIWENTOR @ru/7o MZ Mmm/7g BY ATTORNEYS.

B.. W. HENNING APPARATUS FOR FORMING PIPE May 22, 1934.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 4, 1930 INVENTOR. 5H/n0 W Henn/ng BY MJL ATTORNEYS.

' "talented May 22, 19341` 'l UNITED STATE-s PATENT 'oi-rica g 1 v1,959,673 APPARATUS ron FonMING PIPE Bruno W. Henning, San Francisco, Calif. Application 'January 4', 1930, serial No. 418,546

` 1 Claims.. (ci. 21a-c) 'l'nis invention relates to a method'of and apparatus for forming pipe and is especially suitable forforming pipes havingwelded seams. In forming `a .piece of sheet metal, preparatory to welding it into a pipe, it has been a common practice to shape the material manually intothe general contour of a pipe having-a longitudinal slit and toweld spots at spaced inter-vals along the slit to retain the shape until the actual welding of the slit ,is accomplished. 'Ihat method pos'- sesses many serious disadvantages. Buckling of the pipe adjacent the slit while it is being welded, causes. 'an uneven weld' and' consequently the joint is weaker in some parts than in' others. Thev circular form is not uniform. Buckling of thel pipe causes some parts of the joint to be flatterV thanothers, while still other parts are caused to lprotrude outwardly.

It is an object of this invention to devise a land more convenient manner.

Another object is to devise a method. of weld?- ing pipe in which the welded joint is stronger-,

neater and more uniform.'

' lpipe in which the cross section of the nished pipe is uniform and more nearly circular.

Another object is to devise a, machine for facilitating the handling of a pipe preparatory to 'its being welded.

Still another object is to devise a machine for -welding pipe which saves time, labor and expense. Other objects'ancl advantageswill become apparent to those skilled in the art, as the detailed description of the invention proceeds. Attention is directed to the accompanying 'drawings in which:

Fig. 1 lis' an elevation of a machine embodying `the principles of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an ndview of the machine shown in Fla'. -1.

Fig. 34'is a, plan View showing certain ones of the' drive rollers or the machine of this inventime i circular cross section, it has been common to roll method forforming and welding pipe in a fasten Another objectk is to devise a method of welding,

Fig. ,4 is 'a detail view of the bearing for one of the drive rollers shown-in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on line 5-5 of Fig'. 1.

Fig. 6 is a detail view showing' the linked roller Il0 die of this invention.

Fig. 7 isan end view of Fig. 6 with some of the links broken away.

'Briey,the invention is directed to a methodand'apparatus for welding pipe, in which a sheet 65 of metal is first formed into approximate cylindrical shape .with the edges o'f the sheet in abutting relation, 'conveying the sheet through a series of rollers to draw the edges closer together and also to curve the edges toconform to the circular cross section of the finished pipe and continuously welding the edgesI together at a definite weldingangle which is maintained by the series of rollers -while the pipe isbeing conveyed through them.

Referring tol Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, 7'5, aframe for the-machine is shown comprising a pair 'ofparallel base members 1`1and 12, which may bein the form of I- beams as shown. Mounted on base members ll and 12 are a plurality of upwardly extending columns such as the colgo umns'13, 14, l5 and 18. A beam 19 is supported on columns 13, 14 and 15, and a parallel beam' 20 is supported on similar columns of which 18 is one. A pair of channels 22 and 23 are mounted on and extend 'between beams 19 Aand 20 and sus- 85 pended from channels and 25.

A metal sheet 26 of general cylindrical form' 22 and 23 are beams 24 ,having a'longitudinal slit" is shown entering the machine and a iinished pipe 29 is shown leaving 90 the machine. Metal sheet 26 is delivered to the machine with its abutting edges 27 and 28 'upward. -Extending down through the slit formed by edges 27 and 28 and having a lateral portion 30' extending inside of the completed pipe, 29, is 95 a rugged sheet metal n 30. Fin 30 is mounted on adjustable yoke-like supports 31 and 32 and is prevented from endwise movement by channels 22 and 23. Mounted on iin '30 and in a manner which enables them to pass within the cylindrical m0 form 26 and inside of pipe 29 are a plurality -of sets of internal rollers 34 to 38. A detail view of one of the sets .of internal rollers is shown in Fig. 5. Each set comprises a pair of rollers 39.

and 40 having convex rolling surfaces and mount- 105 ed on a spindle 41 in brackets 42 and 43secured to fin 30 by means 'of bolts 44. In co-acting relation `with internal sets of rollers 35, 36 and 37 are complementary external rollers 46, 47 and 48, respectively, the rollers of each set having concave4 rolling surfaces and mounted in bearings o Y. driven 'sprocket' 51 is mounted in bearings 52 and 53 supported on beams 19 and `20. respectively,

48 is rigidly mounted on one end of 4a alsofserve to dri-ve the pipe throughthe machine. 'Rollers 47 and 48 are mounted in -such a manner that' the rollers forming leach set' 'may be dis-v posed at an angle .to .each other; this angle' c orresponding to" the angle `formed by-'the edges 'in sheet 26 as it passes beneath the rollers.

For ldrivin'g rollers 48, a' shaft50 carrying-a 4guides 102 and 103 and abutting against. crosssee Figi-'3 -of the drawings. Each of. the rollers hollow shaft .54 to rotate. therewith, and on the otherend of hollow shaft 54 is a plate 55, rigidly secured thereto and havingholes therein to receive pins 57 secured to'aplate 56 rigidly mounted on shaft 50.

,Shaft 50 extendslthroughj .the hollow portion -of shaft, 54 and there is enough clearance between the outside diameter o f shaft 50 andthe inside diameter of shaft 54 to`allow a limited disalignf ment of these two shafts. .Eachshaft 54is iournalled in'a bearing'58, secured to beam 25 by-A 'means o`f bo1ts'59. Slots 60, provided -for bolts 59,

are o fsuiicient size. to allow angularadjustment of bearings 58 to obtain the desired angle between rollers 48. In this `manner a simple and effective `means is' provided for driving rollers .48 at an angle'to each 'other and from the Asame straight shaft 5.0 without unduly weakening the structure. By mounting the. rollers of each of the sets 47 and.48 at an angle toeach other, the tractive force exerted by them on sheet 26 isA more effective. Also, since each. roller rotates about .an

axis whichis substantially perpendicular to the edge on .whichit' rolls, thejoint formed bythe edges when they are welded together will be more accurately formed and the cross lsection of the pipewill be more nearly circular.

In additionto vshaping' the pipe as it pas-ses through the machine, rollers 46, 47 and 48 also serve to drive the pipe throughthe'machine For driving the rollers, an electric motor 62 is' shown having a', 'gear 63 mounted on .its shaft. Gear 63 meshes with a gear 64 mounted on shaft 65 to. drive' sprocket 66 which isalso mounted. on shaft 65. Chain-67 connects sprocket 66 with' sprocket'l mountedonshaft 50 of rollers 48,. Shaft 50 hasmounted thereon a sprocket 68 (Figl 3) meshing with chain 70 fo-r driving sprocket 71 mounted on shaft 72 of rollers ..47.-A Sprocket 7-3 mounted ori-shaft .'72 meshes with chainl'7i4 to -drive sprocket 75 vmounted on shaft 76 on which rollersY 46 are mounted. .For driving conveyor. chain 85, gear 64 meshes with gear 79 mounted on shaft 78 t0 drive Sprocket 80 which *is .also mounted en shaft 78. -Sprocket, 80 meshes with l' chain 81 to drive sprocket ,82 mounted on shaft 83 .on which -is mounted another sprocket '84. S1 ocket 84 meshes with chain 85, to drive sprocket 8c. :As shown in r'ig. 1, chainc aids driving rouers 46, '47 and 48 'in'conveying the pi'pe thro'ughthe -machine and a projection v8 7 may be pro- 'vided on the chain to grasp .the pipe.' -fChain mayfbe raised or lowered to accommodate any size pipe withinthe range ofthe ma'- chine. For this. purpose, the bearings of shaft 83 are shown mounted on'one end of arms 91.pivoted on shaft 78. '.Pivotallyconnected to arm 91 by: pivot 93,-are downwardly extending members 92 having at their other ends rollers'94. Rollers 94 are mounted on ashaft which passes through 'a hole in an angle section -96. Angle section 96 is provided Witha longitudinal slot and is capable cut out portions.

of adjustment, beinglocked'in adjusted position 'by means of a bolt 97. 'To lower chain 85,. bolt .97 is loosened and shaft 95' is pulledtothe Aleft as viewed in Fig..1, as will scribed hereinafter.

Sprocket 8 6 is journalle'd in cross .heads 101, supported for sliding movement in guides 102 and y10 3. 1fnounted on bracket 104 .which is se- 107. Screws 108 engaging threads in the end of heads 101,' enable adjustmentof 'the tension of, chain 85. Bolts 1 06 an d. 107 pass through slots .iustment vertically. A

be' more fully .def

cured to support 105' by means of bolts 106 and in support-'195 and are thereby Acapable of ad-V 'I o lower chain 485; sc`rews 108 are turned to loosen the tensionon cha in 85 and bolts 106 and 107 'are loosened'and moved down to the desired position in which they are again tightened. '.Thls

lowers sprocket 86 and'sprocket 84 may be lowered .by pulling' shaft 95 bymeans of angle secnot interfere with pipes having large diameters..

The other columns may be-.provided with similar course, that ,the machine is not limited to any' to provide for the welding of any size pipe.

Itis' to ybe 'understood of 10 `specific dimensions and a machine may' be. built 1^ For adjusting' A thermaolline to accommodate pipe'made 'of sheet metal of different thicknesses,

-the -n 30 is vertically adjustable. As fin. 301s raised and lowered, it carries with it internal? rollers 34to 38,thereby changing the distancebe-' tween these internal rollersand the external rollers ofthe machine. Fin. 30'is shown supported on yoke-like members 31and'32 having threaded 'extensions 113 and 114. Openings lll-and 112' are shown in n 3-0, andin each of these openings a collar 1-16 is mounted, having threaded engagement with the threaded extensions 113 and, 114 of vyokes 31 and 32. A lever '117,having' aratchet connection with collar 116 isemployed for turning-the collar to raise or lower yokes 31 Aand'32 and to thereby. raise'or lower iin 30. "At their lower ends; collars 116 rest upon members 118 mounted upon the framework of the machine.-

.In addition -to 4adjusting the rollers forthe thickf ness of sheet. 26; raising: and lowering of.: fin 3Q also varies the pressure between thegrollersj A plurality of roller dies A121 and 122 of-novel construction .are employed togive the pipe a true circular crossv s ectionand to roll edges 27 and 28 of sheet -26 closer together. One;of these roller" dies is showr-iin detail in.-Fig. 6. Each roller die fore mounted for rotation about aires which are substantially parallel to tangentev of the surface of the sheet as it pa'sses through. 'The' lroller dies are suspended from n 30 by means of 'braak- .ets 126 and 127. secured to the iin. Pivoted-to 'brackets v126 and127 ar'e lever members.1 28 and 129, respectively. 'Each of the lever members .128 and 129 is provided with a slot 130 at its other end for engaging a projection 131 on the half-link 125 of the roller die. Each lever member comprises two'legs and between legs 132 and 133 oi'lever member 128 is mounted a block 134 having a hole therein tapped with a left-hand thread. A similar block 135 having a right-hand thread is mounted between the legs of lever member 129 and a screw 136 having left-hand and right-hand threads makes threaded engagement with blocks 134 and 135. Mounted on one vend of screw 136 is a hand lever 139 securedinplace by nuts 187 and 138 for turning screw 136 to thereby actuate lever members 128,and 129. When screw 136 is turned in one direction. the ends of lever members 128 and129 are broughtcloser together to increase the pressure exerted by the roller die on sheet 26 and when screw 136 is turned in the opposite direction, the pressure exerted by the roller die is decreased. The length oi each of .the links 123 is preferably approximately 3.14 inches, so the addition of one link will increase. the diameter of the roller die one inch and the removal of one link will decrease the diameter one inch. Half-links 141 and 142 are provided so that one-half of a link may be added or detracted from each side of the supporting member 143. For example, by replacing half-link 141 with a full link and half-link 142 with another full link, the diameter is increased one inch. To decrease the diameter by one inch, links 141 and 142 are removed without substituting any other links. Holes 144 are provided in supporting member 143 approximately the distance of one-quarter of a link from the holes shown occupied by halflink 141 and other holes 145 are provided bearing a' similar relation to the holes shown occupied by half-link 142. By using holes 144 and 145 to secure the links'to supporting member 143, the roller die may be adjusted to provide for variations of one-half inch in the diameter of the pipe. The nner adjustments are made by turning screw 136.

Rollers 147 and 148, having convex rolling surfaces and mounted internally of the pipe on brackets 149 and 150 secured to iln 30 are employed to shape the abutting edges of sheet 26 as it passes through the roller die. It will be apparent that the tighter the roller die is clamped about the sheet, the greater will be the pressure upon rollers 147 and 148. In a roller die of this construction, the radial pressure against all points of the sheet is approximately the same and under these conditions it is the natural tendencyof the sheet to 4take a true circular outline. When' mainly bending forces, rather than compressional forces, are applied to shape the pipe, the pipe has a tendency to assume a -shape other than circular. This tendency of the pipe to assume a shape other than circular accounts for the necessity of bending the edges of a sheet before it is bent into a pipe when bending forces, as distinguished from radial com- `pressional forces, are employed.

Supporting member 143 has journalled therein a roller V152 for supporting conveyor chain 85 as it passes between supporting member 143 andsheet 26. The supporting members 143 associated with the several roller diesv may be connect'ed together by a spacing rod 153 for maintaining the roller dies in spaced relation.

' When sheet 26 is started through the machine, a cable 156 is wrapped around it to hold its edges together, see Fig. 5 of the drawings. One end 157 of the cable is anchored to a clamping member 158 and the other end 159 passes through of clamping member 158. Cable 156 preferably embraces chain and as sheet 26 is moved along by chain 85, cable 156 and clamping member 158 move with the sheet. After sheet 26 has moved a sufllcient distance to be grasped by rollers 48 and 37, clamp 158 has moved to a position in which operating member 163 of cam 162 strikes a projection 171, see Fig. l of the drawings to release the clamp and free the cable. Sheet 26 is then held by rollers 37.and 48 and from this point on is carried through the machine by the driving action of these rollers and the other driving rollers of the machine.

To support pipe 29 as it leaves the machine and to relieve the pressure on rollers 34 and 35 a cantilever guide member 176 fulcrumed on shaft 83 is provided. Journalled at 181 in one end of guide member 176-is a roller 177 and a roller 179 on a shaft 182 is journalled at theother end oi guide member 176. A roller 178 also may be provided to'support part of the load carried by roller 179. Guide member 176 acts as a lever, the long armof the lever being the distance between shaft 181 and shaft 83 and the short arm of the lever being lthe distance between shaft 182and shaft 83. A piece of pipe supported by guide member 176, at all times therefore, tends to rotate guide member 176 counterclockwise about its fulcrum 83. The downward force exerted by pipe 29 on roller 177 tends to force roller179 upwardly against the bottom of the pipe. The upward force exerted by roller 179 urges the pipe against external roller 46 and thereby relieves the pressure on internal rollers 34 and 35. -By this construction, the weight o f the pipe has no tendency to bend or weaken the part of iin 30 which supports rollers 34 and 35. To prevent rotational movement of guide member 176 after the pipe leaves roller 46, a projection 183 may be provided on guide member 176, this projection abutting against any suitable rigid element secured to the framework to prevent upward movement of the right-hand end of guide member 176.

A reel of filler rod 186, which may be mounted on the frame of the machine, supplies the weld- .ing electrode 187. For purposes of illustration,

-ting edges of sheet 26. Carbon electrode 187 is preferably made adjustable longitudinally ofthe opening, so that the most advantageous welding angle may be obtained. The most effective welding angle may be further assured by varying the pressure exerted by roller die 121. The welding angle of the apparatus in this manner may be very accurately determined and after it has once been adjusted, it will remain constant throughout the whole length of pipe. The roller 188 for forcing the filler rod into the opening may also be adjustable in order to position the filler rod in the most advantageous position. 4 The welding Vof the pipe is a continuous operation and the forces set up by the expansion and contraction of the heated parts can be employed to draw the edges together and make-the joint even more nearly perfect. Thus, the very same forces which were dtrimental in previous methods are in my method made to do useful work.

When the metallic arc process of welding is employed in my method, the same advantages are obtained and furthermore, the accurate control overthe welding angle makes the metallic arc process especially well suited for the welding operation. Also, since the rate of feeding of the iiller rod can be made proportional to the rate at which the pipe is drawn through the machine, whether the rate be constant or otherwise, the joint obtained will be absolutely uniform in either the metallic arc or the carbon arc process.

In the operation of the machine adjustments are rst made to chain 85 and'iin 30 to accommodate the particular size of pipe desired and a sheet of metal is then formed roughly into the general outline of a pipe and placed on the conveyor chain 85. The abutting edges of the sheet are placed upward to allow the sheet to' `pass around the internal rollers on iin 30. Cable 156 is then rmly wrapped about the sheet and clamped in position. Whenl conveyor chain 85 is set in motion, the sheet is drawn along with it and when the iirst part of the sheet enters between rollers 37 and 48, rollers 48 begin to drive the .pipe through the machine. Subsequently, handle163 strikes projection 171, thereby releasing cable 1,56. Rollers 3'7 and 48, in addition to driving the pipe forwardly, at the same time gradually draw the edges together and shape the edges. When the sheet enters roller die 122, the

edges are more closely drawn together, and the circular outline of the pipe is improved still further. p After passing through roller die 122, the pipe passesy between rollers 36 and 47 where the edges of the' sheet are further shaped and pressed together, and after leaving rollers 36 and 47 the pipe enters roller die 121. When the pipe begins to emerge from roller die 121, the machine may be stopped if desired, to start the filler rod in the opening between the edges of the sheet and to -makev the finer adjustments of rollery die 121 and electrode l87for the purpose of obtaining the correct welding angle for the pipe. The sheet then passes through the welding arc andafter the joint has been welded it passes between rollers 35 and 46 to roll the welded joint. Roller 46 is a driving rollerand in this connection it might be pointed out that as the load becomes greater, thev number of driving rollers increases.. Thus, as the sheet passes through thesuccessive stages, more driving rollers' are encountered to insure ample driving force at all times.v The main part f of the work is done by the rollers, chain 35 being ,used more for a support and for starting the 'sheet on its way than fordriving the sheet through the machine'. Under some conditions, it might be advisable to substitute somey other support for the sheet and to start it manually, rather than employing a chain for the purpose.

When the pipe reaches roller 177, guide member 176 operates as hereinbefore described, to push pipe 29 upwardly against roller 46, relieving the pressure onrollers 34 and 35.

While I have described a speciiic` embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto, as many other embodiments coming within I the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. In a machine Afor forming pipe, a cable adapted to be wrapped about a sheet of metal, means for clamping said cable about said sheet, means for conveying said sheet through the machine and means for automatically releasing said cable after said sheet has been conveyed 90 a predetermined distance. Q

2. In a machine for forming' pipe, a pair of rollers for rolling the adjacent edges of a sheet of metal of approximately cylindrical form'having a longitudinal slit, the rollers of said pair being mounted atan' anglev to each other, each lof.,saide,rollers,being vmounted on a hollow shaft,

astraightv shafijpassing through the hollow shafts ofV both of said rollers, and rneanswfory driving said straightV shaft' to 'impart frotatinal move- 100 mentgtdsaid-rollers. j 3.A In'almachine for 'forming pipe, a roller die for drawingv together the edges of laxcylindrical sheet of metal having ,a'longitudi'nal slit, said roller die comprising a plurality of links, each of said links having journalled therein a roller, the axis of rotation of each of said rollers being approximately'parallel toa tangent of the surface of said sheet.`

4. In a machine for forming pipe, a roller dien@ for shaping a sheet of metal, said roller die comprising a pluralityv of links", eachl ofsaid vlinks having journalled therein a roller, certain'ones of said links being approximately 3.14 inches long. 5. In a machine for forming pipe," aroller die for shaping a sheet of metal, said roller die comprising a plurality of links, each of said links having journalled therein a roller, certain ones of said links being approximately 3.14incheslong, and other of said links being approximately one half the length of said rst mentioned links.l

6. In a machine for forming'pipe, means for conveying a sheet of metal through the machine,

`shaping rollers for rolling said sheet, a guide member comprising a roller journalled on each end of a' lever, the weight of said sheet on one of said rollers causing the other roller to exert a force upon said sheet in a direction which re- -leves the pressure on' certain ones of said shap- 

